love story

Love stories are as old as time, but then again, so are stories about its creepy sister-emotion: infatuation.

In a continuation of the chat between my friend Casandra and I, we land on the topic of how guys still use pickup lines. She shares with us one specific pickup line that was a little too corny not to be memorable.

This episode features two short stories. One old one, and a REALLY old one.

The first story is the REALLY old one, and it comes by way of Turkey. It’s called “What Happened to Hadji,” a humorous story where an infatuation goes terribly wrong. Can Hadji be redeemed by the end of it?

The second story is a witty short story about a wannabe lover looking to literally buy the attention of his obsession. The story was written by the prolific writer John Collier back in the mid-20th century. You’ll recognize many motifs in this story that have been copied by Hollywood movies in the decades since.

Thanks to the sources that influenced this episode, specifically Jane Yolen who included “What Happened to Hadji” in her folk tale anthology Favorite Folktales From Around The World. And thanks to Zoetrope for providing access to “The Chaser” short story.